5/09/2007

Metric martyrs - Where is the victory ?

So shops can use Imperial measures beyond 2009 so long as they also use metric measures to. Good news I'm sure and common sense too, after all, school children have been taught to work in metric for more than 20 years. But where is the victory for the "metric martyrs" ?

These people were only taken to court because they refused to display metric measures as well as imperial ones. The EU's announcement today maintains the principle that both should be displayed.

So I am at a loss as to where the victory is for the martyrs. They wanted to refuse to use metric measures at all, and that is not what has been announced today. If there is a victory at all, it is for common sense.

The "metric martyrs" were taken to court for using old scales and refusing to purchase modern metric scales. Every court they went to in the UK and the EU upheld their conviction. Recent silmilar convictions have also shown that if the market trader is converting between metric and imperial in his/her head, customers usually get less weight than they are charged for.

At the moment the EU has made no announcement. One person on a 27 member panel has expressed his feelings and the "metric martyrs" have turned this into a news story.

British shops are still required to sell in metric weights. Nothing has changed.

Other countries managed to complete a metric changeover in 2-3 years. The UK has been at it since 1965 and there seems to be no chance of any leadership on the matter.